Feb. 13 was a great day for the Lone Star Lodge and Marina management team.
An answer a decade in the making finally came: You can rent the marina slips to the public.
“It’s a huge investment that our owner has put into this location, but we’re really excited to get it open,” Marina Manager Rani Hutcherson said on Feb. 14. “We just got the approval yesterday to open, so today was kind of the first day for us to start reaching out to the people who have waited for us and put their deposits down and really been loyal and understanding.”
The process of opening a new marina isn’t an easy one, with the staff needing to work with multiple entities—the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Denton County and Dallas—because they each have a vested interest in the lake area and the water quality.
The marina has 88 slips open, with the plans in place to build 412 more.
“We’re hoping ... that we’ll be able to open them as they come online,” Hutcherson said.
The first 88 are a combination of 12-by-28’s and 12-by-32’s.
The second phase will have around 100 slips, which will include those sizes as well as 12-by-48’s.
At ultimate buildout, the marina will feature slips that can accommodate everything from sailboats to cabin cruisers and houseboats.
“We’ll probably stay an average of 60-to-40 foot slips for larger slips just because that’s so much more popular in this area and not too many people have 100-foot house boats on the lake,” Hutcherson said.
There’s a possibility of incorporating jet ski pads as well for rent instead of jet ski users having to rent a full slip.
The slips have the chance to start filling up in advance of the Bassmaster Classic, the Super Bowl of Fishing, to hit Lake Ray Roberts on March 21.
“It’ll be nice to just see other people out on the water and them knowing about us,” Hutcherson said. “And people getting off of Lake Lewisville and coming here, and being able to show them the beauty that is Lake Ray Roberts.”
The breakwater dock, which juts out into the water near the opening of the cove into open water, has already started changing the impact of the water on the shoreline.
“It’s going to help with the shoreline erosion with the waves that are coming in,” Hutcherson said. “... Those waves that just come in and thrash the banks— that is stopping that to help limit erosion through the cove and it helps protect the marina.”
The marina itself is on a winch system to keep the level of the piers at the correct level with the water.
Swimming is forbidden in the marina area as there can be unseen dangers under the water’s surface, she added.
“We don’t allow people to swim around the docks just because there is electrical running in there, and you never know if someone has an extension cord that fell in the water that’s still plugged in, things like that.”
There are possible add-ons available in the slips, including boat lifts that can keep the boat stored up and out of the water.
One of the complications that pushed the Lone Star marina project behind was the May 25 tornado that affected the ship store and the slips that were then under construction.
“Our ship store was already built out before the tornado and already ready to go,” she said. “But due to [the storm], we decided to add some additional beefy infrastructure to just make sure it’ll withstand more.”
In addition to Lone Star merchandise and snacks, the ship store offers fishing supplies and boat fuel.
“The fuel is pretty nice,” Hutcherson said. “It’s no ethanol, 93 octane, so it’s a good boat fuel.”
Some of the fishing supplies are made by a local man who makes gigs himself.
A longtime member of the staff, Marvin Ishmael, is so grateful for the news the slips can start filling up.
“It’s going to be pretty amazing to get this open,” he said. “The atmosphere once people start coming out, it’s going to be crazy. We’re so looking forward to it.”
With the marina will likely come annual events for the community.
“We’re ready to bring some yearly traditions here now,” Hutcherson said.
While much of the current focus is on the slips that are starting to fill up, the lodge portion of the business is also working to grow and improve the facilities it has available for the Lone Star customers.
General Manager Jennifer Ishmael, who handles the facility rentals, has been working with the staff to prepare a new 350-person venue on site, The Star Grand Venue.
There are already several places available for weddings, corporate events or other private events of all sizes—the conference room, the Lakeside Nook, the Lone Star Hall Rustic Barn, the Lakeside Patio, the Lakeside Gazebo and the Lakeside Dining Hall.
“This is really going to be great for Pilot Point,” Ishmael said. “It’s going to draw a lot of business to our little town of Pilot Point.”
In response to the planned increased traffic at Lone Star, both for the marina and the event venue spaces, there is a new 312-space parking lot down the hill from the lodge, which will have paths that go to the marina directly.
“We’ll also have EV charging stations so people will be able to charge their electric vehicles,” Hutcherson said. “We’ll also have some truck and trailer parking as well.”
Throughout the process of expanding the facility and what it can offer, a couple of partners have been particularly instrumental— RRLSP Superintendent Robbie Merritt and the city of Pilot Point.
Despite the fact that Lone Star sits just outside of Pilot Point’s jurisdiction, the city staff has worked with the business to provide necessary water and sewer services and access.
The staff still plans to eventually incorporate an RV park, but it’s still in the preliminary stages, as is an on-site restaurant, which is likely years out from becoming a reality.
A frequent visitor to the Lone Star lodge, Vanessa Guild, said she has fallen in love with not only the location but also the staff who make it a home away from home in Dallas for her to come and stay.
She and her husband stumbled onto it, and she has found it to be a healing place with “the most beautiful sunset in all of Texas,” Guild said.
“It’s one thing to want to do a business to make money,” she said. “It’s a whole different ball of wax when people are doing a business because they want to contribute. They’re about families having a good time, kids being able to enjoy themselves off of the technology, ... and doing something good for the community.
“They’ve had some major trials and tribulations to continue to overcome and overcome, and I’ve seen it personally. ... They treat the garbage man and the CEO all the same. Everybody’s treated the same here.”
